Turkey, Russia to sign deal for second S-400 regiment in 2020

Turkey will sign an agreement with Russia for the second S-400 missile defense system regiment in 2020, a Russian official said Wednesday.

"After the delivery of the first regiment is completed in May-June 2020, the parties plan to sign a new contract on the delivery of the second S-400 regiment in 2021. The list of supplies will be similar to the one included in the first contract," the unnamed official told Russian news agency TASS.

The source also said the new deal will include partial localization of production with some Turkish firms manufacturing certain "non-crucial" parts of the S-400 systems.

In December, Turkey officially signed a $2.5 billion agreement with Russia for the S-400s — Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system.

Aiming to address its growing defense needs, Turkey decided to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. Turkey will be the first NATO member country to acquire the system.

With the S-400s, Ankara aims to build Turkey's first long-range air and anti-missile defense system to guard against threats in the region.

Moreover, Turkey seeks to build its own missile defense systems as the deal also involves the transfer of technology and know-how. The S-400 system, which was introduced in 2007, is the new generation of Russian missile systems, and so far Russia has only sold them to China and India.